An elegantly folded napkin at your dinner party is a skill you can quickly teach yourself. We love this look and the napkin pattern for a Kentucky Derby party. A creatively folded napkin adds such a special touch to your table setting and it’s easy to do, with the step-by-step instructions and photos that you’ll find in Top 100 Step-by-Step Napkin Folds by Denise Vivaldo.

An elegant Kentucky Derby party starts with beautiful invitations that give your guests a glimpse of what you have planned. For a party theme and decorating, combine red roses, with white and gold accents in your centerpieces and even your dessert with a red velvet cake.

Mint Juleps served in silver cups or silver plastic cups are best served with shaved or cracked ice and look beautiful garnished with a sprig of mint and a straw or stir stick.

Derby themed party favors are a great way to say thanks to your guests for attending your event. Boxes or cello bags decorated to match your invitations and theme filled with trinkets or treats will be appreciated.

"The Kentucky Derby" movie released in 1922, is the tale of dirty work afoot in old Kentucky when a rival decides his horse will have a better chance of winning if the son of the owner isn't around. He has him shanghaied onto a tramp freighter and gets the jockey in his debt through a crooked gambling game. Airplanes, ship-wrecks, sea storms, kidnapping, frame-up and much skull-duggery prior to the race.

Love, love, love a red velvet cake for a Kentucky Derby party that would carry through the red of the Run for the Roses theme to the party. When exploring Pinterest, (don't you just love it!), I found this beautiful red velvet cake with a gold horse on the top. I clicked every link and couldn't find the correct source for this creation (if you have it, please let me know.) For the horse topper, you could find a plastic horse the size you need for your cake and spray paint it gold. (Check that the painted piece is food-safe to sit on your frosting.)

Then, I fell in love with frosting of white roses on a red velvet cake from CaseyCooks.com, but thought there was no way ever I could make these roses.

Much to my delight, Casey included a video on how to make these roses. After watching it, I think I could actually make them and hopefully as beautiful as these cakes.

Fashions may change through the years, but one thing that has remained the same, the Kentucky Derby is the occasion to look your best. The size of the hats may be smaller, the the elaborate outfits of these women in the 1930's are stunning from their large bead necklaces to their gloves and fashionable hose and heels. The men behind them are smartly dressed in suits and hats for a day at the track.

If traditional Mint Juleps aren't your thing, try these delicious Blueberry Mint Juleps. I love how Jessica of HowSweetItIs described her discovery of adding blueberries to concoct these insanely delicious cocktails. Seriously, you don't have to wait until the Kentucky Derby to make these. As she said, they sound like a great Friday night cocktail to me!

Be sure to make enough of the simple syrup and blueberry mint puree for your party ahead of time so you don't run out during the party! This recipe is for ONE cocktail so multiple by how many servings you need for your party.

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I love the Derby! In passing, I told my husband I'd love to go the the Derby when it was on my birthday (yes, I'm a Taurus). He actually remembered and surprised me with a trip in 2006, the year Barbaro won. We had fabulous tickets on the rail, I had a fabulous hat that made it onto the track on the head of a photographer and into the newspaper, and we have wonderful memories of our time at the Derby.(A bucket list must!)